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Reviewer: Peter
Loewen Wait—Vin Diesel sings opera? Oh no, it’s just Xavier Sabata, the bad-boy of the countertenor world. Here he is, head shaven, sporting a rough beard, hairy chest exposed, and dripping wet, as though we’ve caught him in the midst of an undercover mission with the Navy SEALs.
What is it with
the odd cover art of these solo countertenor albums? On the 2014 recording
of Hasse Arias titled ROKOKO (Decca 4786418; J/A 2014), Max Emanuel Cencic
is decked out with a 1950s pompadour, bright yellow shirt unbuttoned to the
navel, and neck slung with beads. I commented in my review that it imitated
the bold cover art of vintage Decca albums— Bing Crosby, c. 1964. Ah, but
puzzle solved: there is a connection between these competing countertenor
recordings, and it is the conductor George Petrou and the ensemble Armonia
Atenea, who add their share of drama in the orchestral accompaniment on both
releases. Catharsis is as brilliant a recording as was ROKOKO. And one wonders whether it will do as much for the revival of these little-known opera composers as Cencic’s recording did for Hasse. Arias on this release by Orlandini, Conti, Torri, Caldara, Ariosti, and Sarro are as virtuosic as Hasse’s. Some of the arias here derive from the three-act opera Adelaide (1729) by Giuseppe Maria Orlandini (1676-1760). He was the maestro di cappella at the courts of Florence and Bologna, and, according to Charles Burney, was renowned for his dramatic music. The arias ‘Alza Al Ciel Pianta Orgoglioso’ and ‘Gia Mi Sembra Al Carro Avvinto’ are full of complicated passages, which Sabata tosses off without difficulty. To counteract Orlandini’s ravishing arias, Petrou programs the gentle arias of Conti, Handel, and Hasse. ‘Cara Sposa’ from Francesco Bartolomeo Conti’s opera Griselda (1725) offers soaring melodies over simple harmonic accompaniment. Handel’s arioso ‘Chiudetevi Miei Lumi’ from Act I of Admeto is sublime, as is ‘Or Mi Pento’ from Hasse’s oratorio La Conversione Di Sant’Agostino. Texts and notes are in English.
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